Gaza Genocide30 May, 20263 min read
Israeli Soldiers Ordered To Shoot People Crossing Gaza’s Yellow Line, Reservists Tell AP
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Reservists report shoot-to-kill orders near a yellow line separating Israel and Gaza. Struck a Palestinian vehicle near the Israeli-controlled Gaza boundary, killing all inside.
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Yellow line ceasefire reality
Israeli reservists described to the Associated Press that after a fragile ceasefire took effect in October, soldiers were ordered to shoot people who crossed or came close to the so-called yellow line dividing Gaza into Israeli-controlled and Palestinian areas. One Israeli combat soldier, speaking in his 20s, told The Associated Press, “It was a jungle,” and said, “After the ceasefire, the order was: If someone crosses the line, you shoot them.” The accounts were tied to incidents including an Israeli strike on a vehicle of Palestinians driving near the Israeli-controlled part of the Gaza Strip, which the reservist said killed everyone inside.
“‘It was a jungle,’ the soldier, in his 20s, told The Associated Press.”
The reports also describe how the line’s exact location has been ambiguous and sometimes invisible, with some places marked with yellow blocks and barrels and others not indicated at all. The Israeli military invited AP to see a section of the yellow line in central Gaza near the Maghazi refugee camp, where it was visible as a wide dirt path with small yellow markings.
Soldiers, diplomats, and pressure
The Associated Press reported that three soldiers described to AP a sense of confusion in the embattled territory, with a lack of clarity on rules of engagement around the yellow line. In the same AP account, the reservists said some commanders paid lip service to the agreement while privately voicing desire for the war in Gaza to continue, and that troops were sometimes too far away or acted too quickly to recognize who they were shooting. The Los Angeles Times framed the testimonies as depicting permissive rules of engagement and commanders signaling Israel is entrenching, not winding down, its Gaza campaign.
The reports also say the U.S.-backed diplomat overseeing the truce described progress as deadlocked over disarming Hamas, which the articles say is the central sticking point. Against that backdrop, one soldier told AP, “To call it a ceasefire is a joke,” while the accounts were provided on condition of anonymity because the soldiers feared being ostracized.
Casualties and what’s next
The Associated Press said that since the ceasefire went into effect, more than 900 people have been killed in Gaza, with dozens of those close to or over the yellow line according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The articles add that the ministry does not say how many are militants, but that unarmed men and children have been among the dead, while Israel’s military has said most of the people killed crossing the line posed a threat to troops. The Los Angeles Times and AP accounts both describe how the line is tied to a buffer zone, with Israel withdrawing troops to it when the ceasefire went into effect and giving Israel control of just over half the strip.
In central Gaza near Maghazi, an Israeli military commander told AP, “There is no reason for anyone to come near the line,” and said, “There’s nothing here.” The reports also describe that Israel has expanded control over additional territory in Gaza while both sides have accused the other of violating the ceasefire, leaving the truce’s next steps linked to disarming Hamas.